Faubourg

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Faubourg is an ancient French term approximating "suburb". It is itself a derivitive of Forsbourg, a descendant of Latin "foris" (out of) "burgum" (town or city). Traditionally, and especially for Paris, this name was given to an agglomeration forming around a throughway leading outwards from a city gate, and usually took the name of the same throughfare within the city. Thus the rue Saint-Dénis within Paris' walls gave birth to the faubourg Saint-Dénis without.

Many of Paris' streets have retained their ancient denomination in spite of city growth; today it is still possible to discern Paris' pre-1860 delimitations by marking the point where a throughfare's name changes from "rue de..." to "rue du faubourg de...". Most remarkable examples are the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and the above rue du Faubourg Saint-Dénis.

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